


Must be You

by TiredMage909



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Daryl and Jesus are cute, Is my favorite Rick Grimes, M/M, No Smut, Oblivious Rick Grimes, Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-28 07:08:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17782868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TiredMage909/pseuds/TiredMage909
Summary: They finally have some time to relax, and Daryl and Paul intend to make the most of it. Too bad Rick never knows what's going on.





	Must be You

It was rundown, but these days, what wasn’t? The hotel had been a nice one in its day, with winding wooden banisters and fancy chandeliers, but it was clear that no one had checked-in in a long time; just looking at the layer of dust covering everything made Daryl want to sneeze.  
They were all gathered in the lobby, slumped down onto the plastic-covered sofas that made up the area in front of the reception desk. Weapons and belongings had been dropped haphazardly as everyone settled down for a much-needed rest – they’d been on the move for days, after leaving both The Hilltop and Alexandria behind, and everyone was exhausted. Glenn and Maggie had taken one couch for themselves, her head pillowed on his thighs and a 6-month-old Herschel asleep against her chest. The others were spread out in a similar fashion; the Grimes family, minus Rick, were all mushed together, Enid and Carl leaning on either side of dozing Michonne; Aaron and Eric were lain out similarly to the Rhee’s, with a frustrated looking Aaron trying to settle a fussy baby Grace; and Jesus (Paul) was watching over an already fast asleep Tara, Eugene, and Rosita. The only two yet to settle were Daryl and Rick. 

They were taking stock of the place, wandering from room to room on the ground floor. The place was remarkably empty, no walkers or bodies, but there was almost nothing in the way of usable supplies. Just like the sofas in the lobby, most of the remaining furniture was covered; the chairs in the adjoining restaurant were all stacked on top of tables and all the cabinets and pantries had been cleared out. From the looks of it, the hotel has closed long before the dead started walking. 

“Can’t say I expected much else,” Rick said as they made their way back to the others. “Food woulda been nice, but as least the place is clean. I’m figuring we can camp out here for at least a few days and scout the surrounding area, grab anything we can find.” Daryl nodded as the other man spoke. “We lookin’ to stay round here, ya think?” he asked. 

Rick sighed. “I don’t know, brother,” he said, “I’d like to say yes but with how quickly our shit seems to go south, I can’t one way or another. Like I said, we’ll start with a couple days rest and see where it goes. I ain’t keen to move out but if there ain’t nothing around, there ain’t nothing.”  
“S’good a plan as any,” Daryl replied. He didn’t want to move in a hurry, and he knew the others wouldn’t either, but it’s not like they’d have a choice if it came down to it. Things over the past few weeks had been messy, and if all they got now was a place to take a load off for a few days, it would have to do. 

By the time they’d finished speaking, they’d circled back to the lobby. “Let’s go clear the rest of this place,” Rick said, motioning with his chin to where they could see the rest of the group. “Then we’ll get them up. No use sleeping scrunched up on couches when there’s plenty of beds elsewhere. We may not be here long, but at least we’ll be comfortable while we are.” 

**************************************************

An hour later saw Daryl stretched out in the window seat of the room that would be his for the next few days. Rick had been right – the top floors had been just as empty as the ground floor, and each long hallway had been lined with dozens of rooms. The floor they’d chosen were all ‘one-person’ rooms, meaning they were luxurious to say the least – long, high windows with rich colored drapes, walk-in closets, and most importantly to the group, kind size beds. Anyone who had complained about being woken up had turned around and thanked them as soon as they realized they’d be sleeping on actual beds. 

The views weren’t bad either. From where he was sitting, Daryl could see the entire back yard of the hotel. There was a pool just under his window, and chaise lounges and patio umbrellas dotted the area around it. Just beyond that was a small children’s playset and a putting green; Daryl could see yardage markers still intact. The only thing not picturesque about the whole thing were the walkers that could be seen stumbling around. There were a few toward the back of the golf course, blurry and indistinct because of the distance, but Daryl could easily tell what they were. He only hoped that those few would be the only ones they had to deal with if they needed to leave in a hurry. 

Daryl’s musing was interrupted by a knock at the door. It was soft, softer than a knock would usually be even in a situation like this, and he automatically knew who it was. Paul Rovia entered without being asked in, and Daryl snorted. “Why ya even bother knocking?” he asked. 

Paul grinned. “Because it would be weird to just walk in, even with this group,” he said. Daryl watched him as he moved closer, coming to a stop right in front of where he was seated, and didn’t even flinch when Paul dropped down into his lap. “I mean, we’re going for subtle, right?” he asked, that ever-present smirk somehow even wider than usual. Daryl snorted again, his arms coming up to wrap themselves around Paul’s waist, “I ain’t never been good at subtlety,” he said. With the leverage he had, it was easy to pull Paul down to him. The other man smiled as their lips met, and Daryl couldn’t help grinning back as the other man mumbled out a quiet, “me neither.”

***********************************************

“How did you manage to get the squeakiest bed in the entire place?” Paul asked. Apparently, they weren’t as quiet as they thought they’d been – and when Rick came pounding on the door to ask if everything was alright, he hadn’t thought it necessary to wait for a reply before barging into the room. It took Paul nearly 10 minutes to stop cackling. “Honestly, the look on his face was worth all the shit we’re going to get.”

Daryl, sitting up against the headboard with a cigarette in hand, sent Paul the dirtiest look he could manage. “Ain’t my fault you felt the need to show off,” he said.

Paul scoffed. “I didn’t hear you complaining.” He said. “Plus, you doubted me. Paul Rovia never backs down from a challenge.”

Daryl knew this to be true. While they were still at the Hilltop, Paul had made it his mission to seek Daryl out; whenever Daryl made it point to do something or go somewhere alone, the skinny, snarky, pain-in-the-ass ninja showed up, seemingly out of nowhere. It started just after the war, when Daryl wasn’t interested in any sort of companionship; he’d seen too much to want to get close to anyone again. Paul never gave up though – he just grinned through every request to get gone, through Daryl’s every threat to beat his ass. It took Daryl a while to figure it out. At first, he thought it was just Jesus being Jesus; turns out it was Jesus wanting to be seen as Paul, the person, not the persona, and that he wanted to be seen by Daryl, specifically. Once he figured it out, Daryl spent days inside his own head, trying to decide if he wanted this person as his own. Now several months on, he couldn’t imagine the little shit as anyone else’s.

“Well, maybe do it quieter, next time,” Daryl replied. Paul was lounging back against his chest now, and Daryl looked down to see bright eyes intent on his. “Wha?” he asked. 

Paul stayed silent for a while, like he wasn’t sure what to say. Daryl was about to ask again when the other man spoke. “It’s okay that they know, right? About us?” he asked. For the first time in a long time, Paul looked unsure, and Daryl didn’t like the way it looked on him. 

“’Course it is,” he said. “I ain’t never been good at this shit, never really had it either. Guess I didn’t think about them knowing, figured we was the only ones who needed to know.” Daryl didn’t like the way the words sounded in his mouth, almost foreign, but if Paul needed reassuring he wasn’t going to leave him hanging. He knew he said the right thing, too, when Paul’s face lit up. 

“Wow,” he said, the awe in his voice making Daryl weak in the knees, “never took you for the sentimental type. Must be me then,” he finished, the grin returning to his face. 

“Yeah,” Daryl said, rolling his eyes fondly, “must be you.” 

********************************************

The next morning dawned bright and clear. After their talk last night, neither Daryl or Paul felt much like sleeping, and it was only Daryl’s forgetfulness in closing the curtains that caused him to be awake so early. He crept out from under the covers, as quietly as possible, closed the curtains, and then stood for just a moment admiring the other man still asleep in the large bed. Paul was curled to one side, seemingly trying to stay close to where Daryl had been even in sleep. Slowly though, as Daryl watched, Paul turned over, and spread out further across the mattress. He came to rest on his back, his long hair spread out around his shoulders, and the blanket they’d been using around his waist. Daryl closed his eyes, trying to commit the sight to memory – it wasn’t often they had peace like this, and he wanted to forever remember Paul’s face in the early morning light. Unwillingly, he opened his eyes again and turned toward the door; there was something that needed doing, and he shouldn’t let it wait any longer. 

********************************************

Finding Rick was easy. He was always an early riser, making sure that the rest of the group was safe and secure, so it wasn’t surprising to find him back where they started yesterday, sitting on one of the lobby sofas pouring over a pile of maps. They’d stayed in an office building for a night before finding the hotel, and it turned out that the building had been the area planning office; they’d been able to score dozens of maps for the surrounding area. It had been their only good find before the hotel. 

Rick looked up as Daryl approached and immediately went red around the ears. Daryl rolled his eyes and scoffed. “Really, man?” he said. “Ain’t children.” 

Rick pursed his lips as he watched Daryl sit across from him. “Must be somethin’ in the water,” he said, “Nearly walked in on Aaron and Eric too, and I knew about them.” There was something in Rick’s voice that Daryl was unfortunately all too familiar with – bitterness.

“So, wha’” he said, “you mad I didn’t say nothing?” 

Rick finally looked up. “Nah,” he said, “I’m happy as long as you are. I just hate that I didn’t see it.” 

Daryl snorted at his words. “Hell man,” he said, “I didn’t even see it at first. Took him weeks of annoying the hell outta me before I knew what was happenin’.” Daryl had been watching the other man as he spoke, and he finally saw Rick’s face clear. He smiled. 

“That don’t surprise me,” he said, “man’s got a way about him.” 

Daryl didn’t bother responding; he agreed wholeheartedly, and Rick knew it. They were both silent for a few minutes, letting the conversation sink in, until Rick looked up again. “I’m happy for you,” he repeated. Daryl nodded, and both men stood nearly simultaneously and wrapped each other in a brotherly embrace. 

When they pulled away, Daryl ducked his head at Rick’s warm smile. He nodded again, turned, and started making his way back to his room. They still had things to do, and who knew how long they’d be able to stay put, but for now, Daryl wasn’t going to let himself worry about it. He had something better waiting for him.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all! It's been two weeks since I finished posting my 42 chapter monstrosity and decided that in the spirit of Valentine's Day (I LOVE Valentine's lol), I would post the Desus one shot I mentioned. It's not too long, but I really like how it came out :) 
> 
> Featuring: Surly but caring Daryl, adorkable Paul and Oblivious! Rick. Rick never knowing anything is literally my favorite thing so I thought I'd contribute to it! Enjoy guys! Any Comments make me happy as a clam!
> 
> Oh, I almost forgot! (read: I did totally forget, thanks Edit button), but I recently started a Tumblr. Come geek out with me, I'm at weretheremonkeys (all the hugs to anyone who knows where that's from!)
> 
>  
> 
> Finally, Disclaimer: these characters belong to the creators. I'm just playing with them.


End file.
